| Legislative Assembly of Ontario Assemblée législative de l'Ontario |
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| Type | |
| Type | Unicameral |
| Houses | Legislative Assembly |
| Leadership | |
| Speaker | Dave Levac, Liberal since November 21, 2011 |
| Government House Leader |
John Milloy, Liberal since October 20, 2011 |
| Opposition House Leader |
Jim Wilson, PC since October 20, 2011 |
| Members | 107 |
| Political groups | Liberal Party Progressive Conservative Party New Democratic Party |
| Elections | |
| Last election | October 6, 2011 |
| Meeting place | |
| Ontario Legislative Building, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | |
| Website | |
| www.ontla.on.ca | |
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (also known as Ontario Legislative Assembly or Ontario Legislature), is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada. It is located in the Ontario Legislative Building at Queen's Park in Toronto.
The British North America Act section 69 stipulates "There shall be a Legislature for Ontario consisting of the Lieutenant-Governor and of One House, styled the Legislative Assembly of Ontario". The Legislative Assembly is unicameral, without an upper house (amalgamating the bicameral lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Canada (lower house) and the upper house of the Legislative Council of Canada), with 107 seats representing ridings elected in a first-past-the-post system across the province.
The Legislative Assembly is informally known as the "Ontario Provincial Parliament". This is because unlike the other Canadian provinces, members of this assembly refer to themselves as "Members of the Provincial Parliament" (MPPs) as opposed to "Members of the Legislative Assembly" (MLAs) as in many other provinces. Ontario is the only province to do so, in accordance with a resolution passed in the Assembly on April 7, 1938. However, the Legislative Assembly Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L10 refers only to "members of the Assembly".
The 40th Legislative Assembly of Ontario was elected on October 6, 2011. The first session of the 40th Legislative Assembly opens on November 22, 2011.
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In accordance with the traditions of the Westminster System, most laws originate with the cabinet (Government bills), and are passed by the legislature after stages of debate and decision-making. Although ordinary Members of the Legislature pass few laws they have introduced privately (Private Members' Bills) they nonetheless play an integral role in scrutinizing, debating and amending bills presented to the legislature by cabinet.
Members are expected to be loyal to both their parliamentary party and to the interests of their ridings.
In the Ontario Legislature this confrontation provides much of the material for Oral Questions and Members' Statements. Legislative scrutiny of the executive is also at the heart of much of the work carried out by the Legislature's Standing Committees, which are made up of ordinary backbenchers.
A Member's day will typically be divided among participating in the business of the House, attending caucus and committee meetings, speaking in various debates, or returning to his or her constituency to address the concerns, problems and grievances of constituents. Depending on personal inclination and political circumstances, some Members concentrate most of their attention on House matters while others focus on constituency problems, taking on something of an ombudsman's role in the process.
Finally, it is the task of the Legislature to provide the personnel of the executive. As already noted, under responsible government, ministers of the Crown are expected to be Members of the Assembly. When a political party comes to power it will invariably place its more experienced parliamentarians into the key cabinet positions, where their parliamentary experience may be the best preparation for the rough and tumble of political life in government.
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario is the first and the only legislature in Canada to have a Coat of Arms separate from the provincial coat of arms.
Green and gold are the principal colours in the shield of arms of the province. The Mace is the traditional symbol of the authority of the Speaker. Shown on the left is the current Mace. On the right is the original Mace from the time of the first parliament in 1792. The crossed Maces are joined by the shield of arms of Ontario.
The crown on the wreath represents national and provincial loyalties; its rim is studded with the provincial gemstone, the amethyst. The griffin, an ancient symbol of justice and equity, holds a calumet, which symbolizes the meeting of spirit and discussion that Ontario's First Nations believe accompanies the use of the pipe.
The deer represent the natural riches of the province. The Loyalist coronets at their necks honour the original British settlers in Ontario who brought with them the British parliamentary form of government. The Royal Crowns, left 1992, right 1792, recognize the parliamentary bicentennial and represent Ontario's heritage as a constitutional monarchy. They were granted as a special honour by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the recommendation of the Governor General.
In the base, the maple leaves are for Canada, the trilliums for Ontario and the roses for York (now Toronto), the provincial capital.
The motto "Audi Alteram Partem" is one of a series of Latin phrases carved in the Chamber of the Legislative Building. It challenges Members of Provincial Parliament to "Hear the Other Side".
Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly are broadcast to Ontario cable television subscribers as the Ontario Parliament Network.
The 39th Legislature was dissolved on September 7, 2011.
Election of the 40th Ontario Legislature occurred October 6, 2011, as a result of which Dalton McGuinty's Liberals form a minority government.
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Members[1] |
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Dalton McGuinty |
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Tim Hudak |
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Andrea Horwath |
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| Total |
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| Government Majority |
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(v • d • e)
| Nicholls | MacLaren | Yurek | Jackson | Walker | Milligan | Pettapiece | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Smith | Harris | Thompson | Fedeli | Clark | Scott | McKenna | McNaughton | Leone | McDonell | Cambell | Vanthof | Schein | Armstrong | Mantha | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ouellette | O'Toole | Chudleigh | Arnott | Munro | Jones | Dunlop | Barrett | Hillier | Bailery | Forster | P. Miller | Singh | Tabuns | Natyshak | Taylor | |||||||||||||||||
| Wilson | Hardeman | Shurman | Witmer | Elliott | Hudak | Yakabuski | MacLeod | N. Miller | Klees | Bisson | Horwath | DiNovo | Marchese | Gélinas | Prue | |||||||||||||||||
| Levac | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Milloy | Bradley | Wynne | Duguid | Duncan | McGuinty | Matthews | Meilleur | Gerretsen | Bartolucci | Kwinter | Sorbara | Colle | MacCharles | |||||||||||||||||||
| Leal | Sergio | Hoskins | Best | Bentley | Broten | Chan | Chiarelli | Takhar | Gravelle | Beradinetti | Cansfield | Craitor | Delaney | |||||||||||||||||||
| Dhillon | Flynn | Mauro | McNeely | Murray | Sousa | Jeffrey | McMeekin | Orazietti | Qaadri | Sandals | Zimmer | Balkissoon | Albanese | |||||||||||||||||||
| Dickson | Jaczek | Mangat | Moridi | Naqvi | Coteau | Crack | Damarla | Piruzza | Wong | Levac |
The seating chamber was influenced by the British House of Commons layout and that of the original St. Stephen's Chapel in the Palace of Westminster.[2]. The difference with the British layout is with the use of individual chairs and tables for members, absent in the British Commons' design.
Previous location of the legislature, once home the legislature of Upper Canada and the United Provinces of Canada had similar layout.
There are two forms which Committees can take. The first, standing committees, are struck for the duration of the Parliament pursuant to Standing Orders. The second, select committees, are struck usually by a Motion or an Order of the House to consider a specific bill or issue which would otherwise monopolize the time of the standing committees.
A committee which exists for the duration of a parliamentary session. This committee examines and reports on the general conduct of activities by government departments and agencies and reports on matters referred to it by the house, including proposed legislation.[3]
Standing Committees in the current Parliament:
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Select committees are set up specifically to study certain bills or issues and according to the Standing Orders, consists of not more than 11 members from all parties with representation reflecting the current standing in the house. In some cases, the committee must examine material by a specific date and then report its conclusion to the legislature. After its final report, the committee is dissolved.[3]
Select Committees in the 39th Parliament:
The ceremonial mace of the Legislature is the third mace to be used in Ontario.
The first mace was first used by the Chamber of Upper Canada's first Parliament in 1792 at Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) and then to York (now Toronto). The primitive wooden mace, painted red and gilt and surmounted by a crown of thin brass strips. It was stolen by American troops during the War of 1812 in 1813. It remained in the United States until 1934 and returned to Ontario. Stored at the Royal Ontario Museum and now located in the Speaker's office.
A second mace was introduced in 1813 and used until 1841. A replacement mace was not purchased until 1845 and then transferred to the Union Parliament and finally to the Canadian Parliament in 1867. This mace was lost in the fire at the Centre Block in 1916. The current mace used in Legislature was purchased in 1867.
Like the Parliament of Canada, the Legislature has procedural officers:
The Clerk of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario is the chief permanent officer of the Legislative Assembly, with the rank and status of a Deputy Minister. He or she is the principal procedural adviser and senior officer of the House. The Clerk's responsibilities include advising the Speaker and Members of the Legislature on questions of procedure and interpretation of the rules and practices of the House. The Clerk is also responsible for the overall direction and administration of the Legislative Assembly and is Secretary of the Board of Internal Economy. As Chief Executive Officer, the Clerk is accountable to the Speaker for the administrative and operational functions of the Office of the Assembly.
The other key officer is the Sergeant-at-Arms, whose role is to keep order during meetings in the Legislature. The Sergeant-at-Arms is also charged with control of the Ceremonial mace in the Legislature in session.
Other officers of the legislature include the Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth, the Ontario Ombudsman, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario, the Auditor General of Ontario and the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.
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